The Words of Alcohol
by blamingitonbadluck
Summary: An AU where Mako resorts to drinking regularly. When he starts to get out of hand, Bolin decides that it's best for him to get away. And I apologize for any cliffhangers, they're in the best interest of this story.
1. Chapter 1

Bolin hated when his older brother would drink. When Mako got drunk and started angrily rambling, Bolin could never tell if that's what he really thought or just the cactus juice talking. Normally Mako would just complain and swear about little things. But tonight, he had a bit more to drink than usual.

"Do you know how much of a pain you were as a kid, Bo? How fucking annoying you were? I hate that I was stuck raising you!," Mako yelled, severely slurring his words. He had just stumbled into he and his brother's home above the pro-bending arena, clearly drunk. Bolin was sitting on the couch, ready for a drunk Mako, but not the harsh words.

Mako then made his way to the couch and collapsed next to his brother. He went on, "I was only eight! Eight freaking years old! And then boom-I had a kid! I mean, what the hell, Bo? Why?"

Bolin tried to convince himself as much as possible that it was just the alcohol talking. But the words still stung, because he knew that simply wasn't true. He figured he should answer his inebriated brother in some way, so he said defensively, "I didn't ask for our parents to be killed, Mako. Sorry that I couldn't stop a mugger at the age of six."

If Mako could have sat up, he probably would have slapped his younger brother. Instead, he could only manage to venomously say, "I bet you are sorry. All you are is sorry. Just a sorry little boy. I ought to beat your ass, just for being such a little prick."

Since Mako was laying sideways, he couldn't see the tears starting to trickle down Bolin's face. The earthbender got up without a word, walked to the door, and left. Mako called after him, "Where do you think you're going, little boy? Get back here! Little ugly fuck..." He would have gone on, but the drinks really caught up with him and he passed out just as the door was slammed.


	2. Chapter 2

The Words of Alcohol Chapter 2

Whenever Bolin was experiencing emotional turmoil, whether it was girls or otherwise, he would take a ferry back to the mainland, and just walk along the docks. Seeing the placid water of Yue Bay had a way of calming and comforting him, in a way no person could. After the verbal beating from his intoxicated older brother, Bolin needed a visit to the bay now more than ever.

Arriving back to the mainland of Republic City, he instantly began feeling better, mostly because he knew there was a body of water between him and the drunken monster known as Mako. At such a late hour, the docks were uninhabited aside from the silent ships that gently bobbed up and down. Bolin was thankful that there wouldn't be an audience for his complete emotional unraveling. After walking down the nearest pier, he sat on the edge and dangled his feet over the water. Then, the tears truly began to pour. He sobbed for a few minutes straight, just letting out the pain. However, someone did happen to be watching this pitiful sight. A very comforting someone.

Bolin's bawling was interrupted by Pabu jumping into his lap and giving him a questioning stare. "Pabu? Did you follow me here?" he asked, surprised and comforted by his Fire Ferret companion. His answer was a gentle squeak. Bolin smiled through the tears and wrapped his closest friend in a big hug. "Thanks, Pabu."

When Mako woke up from his drunken stupor, he quickly realized Bolin was gone, and started to panic. "Bo? You here?" he called out to the empty space. When he was met with silence, he smacked his forehead and groaned. "Looks like I have to hunt down my brother. Again. With a hangover. Fantastic."

This hangover-filled search began in the gym of the pro-bending arena, and made its way to the mainland in a short time. Mako knew about his brother's emotional sanctuary, and checked there first. Of course, he wasn't surprised that Bolin wasn't there, because he didn't recall the events of last night. So, he went to the next most likely place where Bolin could be found. Narook's Noodlery.

Mako arrived to the noodlery, expecting to find Bolin at a table with empty bowls stacked around him. _Just like the time he caught me and Korra kissing. Boy did I screw that up… _he thought wistfully. However, the tables were devoid of his brother and empty bowls. Knowing the owner quite well, Mako asked "Hey Narook, did Bolin come here last night or this morning?" The owner merely shook his head, and continued cleaning the register counter. With this answer, Mako was stumped. Then he decided that Korra might know where Bolin is. Korra and Mako's relationship wasn't exactly perfect right now, but if it was concerning Bolin's safety, she would gladly talk to him.

After Pabu's arrival, Bolin wiped his tears and thought about where he should go next. He definitely couldn't go back home for a while, as it was only around 3 in the morning. Narook's Noodlery was still open, but the nightlife there was rather creepy, and Bolin was afraid of the people that went there in the dark of night. He was thinking of a good place to stay for a while, and then it hit him, _Korra! She knows about Mako's drinking! If I explain to her, she'd get Tenzin to let me stay a while! _Knowing there was always a bed for him at Air Temple Island, he set off for a ferry to take him to the island.

When he got off the ferry at the island, the White Lotus sentries greeted him very informally. "Hello, Bolin. What brings you here at such a late hour?" asked Howl, one of the guards.

"Oh, just some trouble with my brother. You know him, always so serious. We had a bit of an argument, I guess you could call it, and I need to get away from him for a while." Bolin answered.

"Are you alright? Did he hurt you or anything?" Howl was seriously concerned, especially with such a vague answer.

"I'm fine, he didn't hit me or anything. We just had a disagreement… I need some time away from him. Just… to clear my head, I guess." The sadness in his voice was difficult to hide.

"Well, alright. I'll have some guards take you to your room. We'll let Tenzin know you're here in the morning."

"Thanks, Howl." Bolin said with his typical Bolin-smile. Then he added, "Oh, and do you mind if I stop and talk to Korra before I go to bed? I kind of want to talk to her about what happened with Mako. Is that alright?"

Reluctantly Howl said "I guess..but if she's asleep, don't bother her. Good night."

With that approval, Bolin followed the two guards to his all-too-familiar room, where he lived whenever he stayed at Air Temple Island.

He was seriously expecting Korra to be asleep, but peering through the gap left by her open door, he saw her laying in her cot, staring up at the ceiling. His emerald eyes appearing in the darkness of the hall caught Korra's attention, and she jumped up, asking excitedly "Bo? Is that you?"

The White Lotus sentries left them alone, and Bolin smiled sheepishly and walked in. "Yeah… I had a bit of a fight with Mako, and I figured I could stay here, at least for the night. And… I kind of want to talk to you about it." He sat down on the bed next to her, the expression on his face showing the seriousness of what he had to say.

"Of course! What happened? He's drunk, isn't he? Did he hit you? Are you okay?" The questions poured out of Korra faster than they could be answered.

"He yelled at me, yes, no, not really." He answered her sequentially. The last question was the one whose answer he was the most unsure of.

"Just tell me what happened, Bo. It's okay, I'm here for you."

Mako caught the first ferry to Air Temple Island he could find, eager to figure out where his brother was. He knew that Equalists couldn't have taken him, seeing as they were disbanded a little over a year ago. He still had a bad feeling, as if Bolin had left on his own, and with good reason. But he still couldn't put his finger on it. His deep thought triggered another hangover-induced head pounding, and he swore under his breath. _This boat better get to that island damn fast, before my head explodes._ he thought to himself. The natural rocking of the boat was only agitating his poor feeling.

The ferry arrived at Air Temple Island, at its own pace, of course. Mako was practically ignored by the White Lotus sentries, and he made his way to the main courtyard. The only ones there were Ikki and Jinora, the two Airbender both gave Mako the same disapproving, disgusted look. Their stare continued for a moment until Korra walked up, dressed in Air Acolyte clothing. "You guys ready to teach me—oh. Why are YOU here?" she said. Korra's expression mirrored that of the two younger girls.

Mako quickly said "It's about Bolin." He knew that would get her to talk to him in a civilized manner.

Sure enough, her demeanor changed and she told Jinora and Ikki to go. "What, did you lose him or something?"

"Uh, yeah, actually, I did. Wait…how did you know that? Is he here?" As an answer, he watched his previously missing brother walk up to him and Korra.

As Bolin approached them, he said "Jinora and Ikki said some angry jerk was here. Judging from all the giggling that Ikki did, I figured it was Mako." He said the last sentence with a chuckle.

Normally Mako would have scowled, but instead he bombarded his brother with questions. "Why did you leave? Why didn't you tell me? Do you know how worried I was when I woke up? Dammit, Bo, I thought you got kidnapped again!" His expression was of relief and pain, an interesting mix of emotions.

Bolin seemed shocked. "Um, I kind of wanted to visit my girlfriend. I figured Tenzin and the Order wouldn't mind if I showed up. I pretty much have my own room here. Plus, I couldn't really sleep. I figured talking to Korra would be something to do." He tried to make his lie as convincing as possible. And Mako believed every word.

"Oh. Well, alright. But you could have at least left a note or something. You don't need to give your brother a heart attack when he's only nineteen."

A typical Bolin chuckle was followed by "Alright then. Sorry about that, bro." He stopped for a moment, then spoke up again. "Uh, Mako… I was…kind of thinking about staying here at Air Temple Island for a while. I mean, you're never home and I get bored, and this way I get to see Korra more and you could have all the chicks you want over. And I brought my stuff already, so moving is taken care of." After finishing, he gave his brother an expectant look, as if to say "Well?"

An expression of shock was followed by "Uh. Well sure I guess. That's cool. I understand."

"Really? I thought you'd be against it. Well, I thought Tenzin would be against it, too, but he was surprisingly okay. Plus, the airbender kids probably would have killed him if he said no."

"Trust me, it's okay. And since I now know that you're okay, I'm gonna go home and take a nap. Who knew three drinks would leave me with this bad of a hangover?"

"Alright, bro. See you later." Bolin watched as his brother walked back to the ferry.

Korra gave Bolin a disapproving look. "Bolin, you realize that Mako doesn't remember what happened last night, right? He doesn't realize that you're only here to get away from him. I think you need to say something to him."

He frowned, and replied "First off, I'm not staying here just to get away from Mako. Believe it or not, I actually do want to spend more time with the love of my life. Secondly, if I can just put the incident with Mako behind me and leave it be, that's alright with me. He couldn't have really meant all that stuff, Korra. It'll be fine."

"Bo. You can't stay here forever. You're gonna have to go back eventually. And when you do, you're gonna have to deal with Mako and his drinking again. This needs to be resolved."

"I have a solution to that, my dear Korra. I'm gonna stay here long enough to save up the money for my own place. Then, I can live there, and be independent. Problem solved! I can get a job at Narook's easy-peasy and that'll pay pretty well."

Korra's only response was "Bo." in a serious tone.

"I know…but, I kind of want to forget about this, at least for a little while. Then I'll figure out what to do about Mako. Okay?"

She smiled and said "That sounds better. And don't forget that you'll have your girlfriend to help you through this. We can fix this, Bo."

That typical goofy grin appeared on his face, and he hugged her. "Thanks Korra. I love you."

She returned the warm embrace, and answered "I love you too, Bo."


	3. Chapter 3

The Words of Alcohol Chapter 3

Bolin had really adapted to life at Air Temple Island, especially Pema's delicious cooking. The children had also adapted to Bolin living there. Tenzin and Pema didn't complain much either, as they were more inclined to go out, safe in the knowledge that Korra and Bolin could entertain the kids for an ample amount of time. And Korra was especially happy, seeing as they could spend a lot more time together. They also engaged in the occasional amorous activities, but nothing past second base, and only in absolute privacy. No need to expose the children to anything like that.

Bolin truly fit in at Air Temple Island and was enjoying his time away, and trying to forget about what he was away from. Of course, Korra was set on dealing with the issue directly, showing her un-Airbender-like nature. Every time she brought up Mako, Bolin would quickly change the subject or kiss her to shut her up. Eventually she got the message that he wanted to leave his problems behind for a little while.

Luckily, Tenzin and Pema had the perfect distraction for them. Babysitting.

"Tenzin and I have some important errands to run in the city, and we can't take any of the kids. This might sound like a bit much, but could you two look after them? It'll only be a couple of hours."

Bolin adored the Airbender kids (and they loved him just as much), so almost instantly he said "Of course! We can handle your kids! You two take your time. We've got this covered."

Luckily, Korra liked the kids too. "Yeah, Pema. You two go on. I've watched them all on my own before, it'll be a cinch with Bo here."

Babysitting was easy on Air Temple Island. Jinora was usually reading, and quiet in general. No problem. Ikki was a bit loud, but still manageable. Meelo was rather crazy, but in a good way. He and Bolin got along really well, in a brotherly way. Then there was little Rohan, who Bolin really loved.

With Tenzin out, it was up to Korra to conduct the Airbending training for the day. She was a master, of course, so it wasn't an issue. Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo all listened to her and were mimicking the forms after her. Bolin was sitting there in the courtyard, holding Rohan and rocking him back and forth, mesmerized by the little bundle of joy. Korra stole a glance at her boyfriend while the kids were trying out a move she had just shown them. She loved how the kids brought out the fatherly side in Bolin. It was really rather adorable. A blast of wind in her face from Ikki brought her back to her pupils.

"You're gonna regret that, Ikki" Korra jokingly threatened.

Bolin watched with a smile as Korra and the kids had a friendly fight, with three-on-one. Then he turned back down to the baby, who had fallen asleep. _You're gonna make an incredible Airbender one day, just you wait._ he thought with a grin.

After training came lunch, which Korra and Bolin did not have to prepare. The Air Acolytes took care of that. However, Bolin insisted on feeding Rohan. He and the baby had been inseparable all day.

After eating, the kids went about their own respective activities. Jinora hid herself in the island's library, as she often did. Ikki and Korra went to feed the flying lemurs, an activity they had done together since Korra arrived. Rohan was put down for his nap, as he was getting cranky.

That left Bolin and Meelo, who paired together. They were taking a walk around the island, just taking in the scenery. Pabu had also decided to tag along, and the Fire Ferret was draped around Meelo's shoulders. The young boy had taken a liking to Bolin's pet and constantly played with him, as well as Naga.

As they walked, Meelo suddenly turned to Bolin and said "Ya know, I'm glad Korra ended up with you instead of your jerk brudder."

Bolin chuckled, and said "Really? Well, I can't say I'm surprised. You never really seemed to like Mako. And… I'm glad I ended up with Korra too. Her and Mako never really clicked. I mean, he's always been a bit of a serious fellow, and Korra is a lot more laid-back. They just never really got along. You know what I mean, right?"

Meelo gave him a slightly puzzled look and replied "Nope."

Bolin smiled "Yeah, I didn't think so."

They kept walking and talking, just bonding. Bolin really liked Meelo, and thought of him as a little brother. _I won't treat him like Mako treated me_. he thought darkly. By the time their long walk had finished, Tenzin and Pema were back, and the kids were ready for sleep.

Bolin and Korra were also exhausted, and they walked towards their rooms together, discussing their days.

"Ya know, I really like Meelo. He's like the little brother I've always wanted. And today he said the most adorable thing, ever!"

"Well, I'm glad you two get along. And what would that be?"

"He said that he was glad you ended up with me and not my 'jerk of a brudder,' to use his words."

Korra let out a laugh. "I can't believe he said that, especially to you! But, at least he approves of you. You should be proud of that accomplishment, Bo."

"Yeah, I noticed how he never really liked Mako."

"Nope, none of them did. Especially not Ikki."They reached their respective rooms, which were right next to each other, surprisingly.

"Well, Korra, I am exhausted. Good night!" They hugged and then kissed.

"Night, Bo. And it was nice to see you so happy today." She said with a smile.

Bolin entered his room with a tired smile.


End file.
